a Valentine in White
by Afrieal
Summary: Part of the YANA story line Niki and Komomura's relationship continues in 2 chapters.  May or May not be used as part of the YANA story Dedicated to the earthquake victims in Japan please keep them in your hearts and thoughts
1. Chapter 1

As per Yamma-Jii and Rysh's request I've picked a piece to update for Valentines Day. You should read You are not Alone if you wish this to make more sense. Sorry for the longish Author's note. These are short chapters I am sorry.

I actually have some work done on Aki as well as Odd Bird thanks to the upgrade on Yamma's net book. I was writing again when another r/l suck fest started. Yamma-jii fell and broke his leg above the knee. Usually frightening but not serious…this for us was serious as it jeopardized his artificial knee joint. Luckily he had one of the best surgeons in our area put the plate in, he was in the hospital for a week and a little more. At the same time Ry got bronchitis and a dear friend was moving. So I was pulled in several directions at once. Then when it all calmed down dear sweet Yamma got Cataclysm for me for the anniversary of our first date. (yah he's good like that) so there went our only working system with internet AGAIN. But it kept him occupied_. _

Now thanks to the dear friend we have a router so I can write and upload again.

This is a companion piece to "YANA" set later I may or may not use in the actual story. I'm stuck a little bit with that one. I have two directions I can go, I can make a lemon in the cave or I can have a delayed get together after more angst. I also left the bloody flash drive with the two outlines in Portland at my mum's house packed in one of twenty boxes *insert gratuitous swearing here*. Well at least she has internet now so I can work when I get down there providing I can snitch her shiny new laptop for a couple hours work *grin*.

Second point. I was told that Komomura is a Wolf. I apologize for the mix up but as I don't want to pull the bleeping story and rip it to shreds again I'm going to keep him as a fox. I am sorry if this upsets you. Please remember flames will be used to make tea and heat the cat's sleeping perches.

_We don't own Bleach or any other characters we borrow for our fan-fictions. We only borrow them respectfully because we love them so much we are receiving nothing other than the satisfaction of sharing our stories, the hope of reviews and the stress relief of dumping the plot bunnies out of our poor tired brains. Please don't sue it is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so websites like these are by definition flattering to the actual owners. Tite Kubo and those distributing his work. _

THIS CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS AS TO THE FUTURE OF YANA

If you want to be surprised you have been warned.

Niki sat cross legged (1) on the floor leaning against Komamura's legs as she worked diligently, quickly, and efficiently listing supplies they had on hand and what needed to be refreshed, occasionally making a notation on one regarding what possibly needed to be discarded. The lap desk perched on her knees. The Captain absently stroking her hair as he also attended paperwork. She paused and looked up at him smiling nuzzling his hand.

"This is the last of the supply lists for now Taicho", the young woman said as she handed him the list then opened a drawer in his desk slipping the lap desk graphite sticks (1) and parchment into the drawer. She stood up, stretching and smiling at him as he watched her stand. "Do they need to be put in pen and ink for a report or should I just work from this list?" She smiled and he momentarily lost track of thought as the early spring sunlight shone on her brown hair bringing out some of the reddish highlights. She gently touched his arm and making an enquiring noise in Kitsune as she noticed his inattention. He blinked and answered her inquiry with a reassuring chuff as he reached up and tucked a piece of hair that had slipped from her braids behind her ear.

"Work from the list and then write a report." He smiled at her and stood offering her his large hand. "Tomorrow, did you forget what day it is today?" His voice gentle with the young hanyou he had come to care for.

"It's the fourteenth….ahh that's right" she smiled as she reached into the messenger bag her friend Ami had gifted her with last solstice. "I made you this. It's not chocolate since that isn't safe for us but I thought you might like it." She said shyly. Ever since that night in the cave she had felt the connection between the two of them but with the war she had tried to keep her distance. Today she had hoped she could in a small way bridge the gap if only for this one day. There was an uneasy peace after the decimation of so many of Aisen's Espada during the fight in the faux Karakura (3) She was terrified of losing him and had screwed her courage up, amazingly aided by not only Ami but Iba, Ikkaku , Yumichka and Renji.

She watched as he carefully unwrapped the candied fruit she had carefully crafted, smiling bravely she turned to leave the office. She was half way to the door when she sensed a movement behind her. She turned as he quickly embraced her lifting her in his arms, nuzzling her neck as he gently nipped her neck. She froze. She never in her wildest dreams would believe he would initiate a courtship with her.

She nuzzled into his shoulder relaxing as he made an inquiring chuff to her. She answered with a positive noise stretching up and giving him a gentle nip in return allowing the courtship.

The war was still there a presence in their lives but for this brief time they would spend together there would be peace and love.

I has a new writing list. On Playlist dot com. So I can't exactly give you my writing inspirations this time.

Oh and Ry and I put our heads together and decided to release this on white day. As it begged for a sequel. Not sure about citrus content.

(1) basically she's sitting next to the desk leaning against his legs and working on paperwork. I occasionally do this with yamma-jii when I'm doing hard copy notes for work and he's watching TV.

(2) think a primitive form of pencil I'm thinking they must have something like that because it's bloody hard to do some clerk work with a calligraphy set even if you've been used to doing it most of your life, and yes I've tried I happen to have a brush calligraphy set with ink stone

(3) I've not seen much past the subs of the episodes with Urahara as the 12'th Taicho and the visard's beginnings. Friends have shown me some of the fights in the faux karakura so this is completely made up.

_(Yamma-Jii here. It was a definite suck fest, 2 months of no weight bearing, and another 3 learning to walk again - all on crutches. Rysh and Afrieal have been dears and taken good care of me. The first two months of being unable (or rather not allowed) to move around save for doctor appoints and a limited walk down the hallway, drove me nuts and the ladies finally made it so my only friend was NOT the TV. So my thanks to them and my thanks to you, the reader, for your patience while they tended this old bear.)_


	2. White Day

Here's the second chapter and Enjoy (disclaimer on previous chapter)

Niki, again, sat on the floor with her lap desk perched on her knees leaning against Komamura's legs as she went over reports. This time she was going thru the usual reports from the squad members in the field, shuddering at the atrocious handwriting and badly phrased reports.

"That bad?" An amused voice came from above her as she took up the brush and made a few quick notes on a different parchment and tossed the offending report into the pile next to her.

"My god I know they had to write reports in the Academy, how in hell did they graduate?", She replied as she carefully checked what she had just written for mistakes then gently blowing on the ink to dry it. "I swear this one was so badly written and misspelled I wonder if he knows which end of his sword to grasp." His amused chuckle was music to her ears. She rubbed her head back against his knee and paid attention to the synopsis she was creating.

She and Ami had both decided, each for their own reasons, to go thru the reports that came in from routine real world placements of their squad members. "Eyes only" missions of course stayed with the higher ups. Hopefully they could streamline some of the office paperwork they made synopsis of the reports. They had both approached their captains with the idea and had received approval, although Niki had wondered if Ami had received Kenpachi's approval because of his extreme dislike of paperwork. They had then approached the Soutaiocho's office with the results of their experiment, showing the improvement of a smoothly running squad and the 11th's notoriously lacking in efficiency. It had been decided to implement it on a limited basis throughout the squads. It had also given them a way to put some of the convalescing members of each squad to work and free up others for needed missions.

She looked down at the completed report and noticed it had dried. She found herself more and more thinking of the things that had happened in the last month, especially the courtship between she and her beloved Taicho.

For the last month they had been courting. He had taken her out to dinner a few times. She had cooked him dinner and the on the whole the squad had approved with a few holdouts that had mainly been mad that she had never showed them any interest. She reached up and set the completed synopsis on his desk then carefully set the calligraphy set on the desk next to it. She then began straightening the various reports slipping them into files and setting them into one stack. She then slipped the parchment and lap desk into the desk drawer and stretched. It was raining today, almost a mirror opposite of the day only a month ago when he asked to court her. She stood and bending over grabbed the files and placed them on the cart.

"Leave those for now Nik", he said a smile in his voice as he finished cleaning off the brush for the kit and placing them in the case with the ink stone. Wiping his hands he pushed back from the desk and stood. She smiled up at him then looked down shyly her brown hair not confined by her usual braided hairstyle making a loose mahogany curtain hiding her face. He gently smoothed some of her hair behind one ear trailing his finger down the line of her jaw to her chin and lifting her face. Her eyes met his and she smiled.

"Do you know what today is, my sweet Nikki?" He asked gently cupping her cheek in his large palm.

"The fourteenth of March?" She replied absently gazing at his much loved face. Then it hit her. It was white day. (1) She smiled at him "You don't have to…" she trailed off as he put a finger to her lips then pulled her into his arms lifting her as he had a month before and holding her gently to his chest. He then lowered her to stand on her feet kneeling in front of her pulling a box out of a pocket of his haori and opening it to reveal a silver ring with a pearl in it.(2) She gasped as he gently took her hand in his and slipped it on her finger.

"Be mine forever Nikki, be my mate, my wife, my everything?" he asked first in the ninjen tongue then in the language of Kitsune.

"Yes" she whispered then yipping in Kitsune she fling herself at him knocking him to the floor she lay atop his sprawled from nuzzling into his neck.

"Your day is cleared for tomorrow Taicho" Iba said looking in after hearing the crash smiled. "Congratulations."

I started this second chapter two days after valentines day after getting distracted by more r/l stuff *sigh* Sorry no citrus was evident. While I was working on the final bits of it I turned on BBC America to watch world news about 3 am our time. When I saw that Japan had had the devastating quake I couldn't do much more I was heart broken to see the devastation. Ry and I decided not to alter the first part of the first chapter as it had been written and rough beta'd by the time I finished this.

I may put more on this or not I haven't decided. I may just have this as the ending of YANA and do drabbles later.

1)I know white day is recent (see wiki below) but I thought of this while we were working on the first chapter and decided to post both on white day being contrary I think that it is a nice tradition.

White Day was first celebrated in 1978 in Japan. It was started by the National Confectionery Industry Association (全国飴菓子工業協同組合) as an "answer day" to Valentine's Day on the grounds that men should pay back the women who gave them chocolate and other gifts on Valentine's Day. In 1977, a Fukuoka-based confectionery company, Ishimura Manseido (石村萬盛堂), marketed marshmallows to men on March 14, calling it Marshmallow Day (マシュマロデー).

. (2) The reason I chose a silver and pearl ring other than the fact it's white is one of the Kitsune legends that I read doing research for this (yes both of us actually research for these stories) was the fact that most Kitsune are associated with pearls and this would have a profound meaning between the two of them here is a direct quote from the Wiki I used:

Depictions of Kitsune or their possessed victims may feature round or onion-shaped white balls known as _hoshi no tama_ (_star balls_). Tales describe these as glowing with _Kitsune-bi_, or fox-fire. Some stories identify them as magical jewels or pearls


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